Saturday, November 03, 2012

Accidental Pharisees - A Review

"The truth is that accidental Pharisees are made up of people just like you and me, people who love God, love the scriptures, and are trying their best to live by them. The thing to note about accidental Pharisees is just that. They're accidental. They're like dinner at Denny's. No one plans to go there. You just end up there." - Accidental Pharisees, p.19-20.

Reading Accidental Pharisees - Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity , and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith by Larry Osborne was an adventure. His style of writing is very conversational, which makes it very easy to read. His stories draw the reader in, and the book was very infuriating and convicting. I really enjoyed it.

Please view the book trailer here.




Reading the book was and adventure. I found myself, at many points, saying to myself, "yes, yes, yes - hey, wait a minute!" And I think that's the point. I found myself in many sections in the book, places where I didn't expect to find myself establishing extra-biblical rules and regulations in the name of holiness.

Osborne does a great job of defining how personal sanctification can lead to unbiblical identification of sin. For example, I may establish specific rules for myself, as I feel this is what God is asking me to do for my own walk toward sanctification. When I apply those rules as universal, however, I'm out of bounds.

One issue I had with the book was Osborne's use of "a friend of mine." He does share some first-hand stories, but the frequent use of others' stories left me with the impression the author saw himself as above some of the critique he made. I repented, and I think he would identify himself in the pages of the book, as well.

Overall, I would endorse this book. I feel, however, it's more appropriate for a more mature Christian, someone who's walked in the faith for a time, as I think the book could do more damage to a younger believer and could even confuse them in their faith.

One more note. Through November 5, you can get a copy of the book for your Kindle device for $3.99. Check it out.
I received this book for free through Cross-Focused Reviews (a service of Cross Focused Media, LLC) for this review.

1 comment:

Cross Focused Reviews said...

Asa,

Thanks for being a part of the Accidental Pharisees Book Review Blog Tour.

Shaun Tabatt
Cross Focused Reviews